Hey guys, I know this topic has been hammered to death but I jut had some drama with a new landy i got and issues with the TC and in going down on her to lock up that cdl i founds some unhealthy u-joints in my double articulated joint.

after much reading on the forums i felt confident i could tackle this job with the tools on hand no problem.

i'll save you the drama regarding what didn't work...

I went to every independent and chain auto parts place within a 10 mile radius (and more actually)

I had no problem getting the u-joints, and i had no problem getting the ball cv, however, napa was the only place with a slide hammer- and it wasn't for sale! it was a rental unit and it was brand new... but they didn't have any attachments for it!

it was also impossible to locally source the spicer 2-86-418 slide seal that covers the ball joint.

I wound up having to go to harbour freight to get a slide hammer bc when i did finally find one at sears none of the fittings were any help for removing the ball cv.

The habour freight bottom of the line el-cheapo mini slide hammer item # 5469 was the only thing that would fit...

and that was only because i broke the bottom of the ball retainer-

I will post pictures up if anyone would like to see but this is how i got the ball out in about 630 easy steps. (most of which didnt do anything so i'll leave those out).

tools & hardwware required:
vertical press / vice / c-clamp - to press the new one in
slide hammer and small internal pulley attachement (<3/4inch - it should be noted that i had to put the feet into the ball then assemble them only the slide hammer)
threaded electrical rod (the kind you would use to build a lamp)
threaded electrical rod nut
vice grips
large socket

(this assumes you've taken everything else apart and are down to just the ball and it doesn't just fall right out)

1. remove roller bearings from inside ball.
2. remove retaining washer
3. press electrical rod nut into ball cylindrical recess
4. flip ball over
5. insert threaded rod into ball center and thread through nut
6. proceed to vice grip the free end of threaded rod and turn it until the nut has been drawn up to the retaining ring - for this step it's ok for the ball to not be centered
7. once the nut has bottomed out, loosed the threaded rod enough to center the ball and then center the ball and re-tighten
8. whilst restraining the paitent preceed to tighten vigorously until the ball is free.
9. When the ball does not come free and only lets you remove the retaining lip now you have clearance to utilize the slide hammer- insert the feet into the ball then attach to tool and then attach slide hammer
10. remove ball
11. remove ball race
12. press in new ball using appropriately sized socket!

 

Haha I have read a number of horror stories rebuilding those drive shafts... Reading one more just makes me a little happier I just bought a new one. But I will probably tackle the rebuild on my old one just so I have a spare and I appreciate all the advice from the many who have tackled this before...

 

pictures of the electrical nut pressed into ball then pressed to bottom retaining lug

 

i didnt get a pic of the broken off part of the ball... i might have tossed it... if i find i'll photo and post here's the broken ball removed with the sleeve and the slide hammer attachment used for both

 

Something to look into for people considering this job is buying all of the necessary parts (to make sure you get quality stuff) and taking the shaft to a driveline/driveshaft shop if there is one in your area. The previous owner of my vehicle took that approach and it wasn't that expensive. They have all the necessary tools so they can crank it out in no time then they can balance it when they're done. With full time 4 wheel drive, the shaft is always turning so getting it balanced is a good idea. I know doing the job yourself can be very satisfying and I prefer to do my own work but for the relatively low labor cost and considering that it should go to the shop for balancing anyway having them do the entire job is probably a good call for most people. Plus, I haven't seen anyone post how much they enjoyed doing the job themselves.

 

Agreed. I've done mine - but next time (!) it'll be done at a driveshaft shop.